OKLAHOMA CITY - The pace was a bit choppy in the first half of the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball game against the University of the Southwest (N.M.). The teams did not shoot the ball particularly well in the opening half, as the physicality was the story in the first 20 minutes. After halftime, however, things freed up and MACU roared to life.
MACU (3-0) shot the ball at a blistering 62.5% clip in the second half, and the Evangels hung 67 second half points on the board as they trounced Southwest (1-2) 105-71.
MACU opened the game on a 9-0 run, and the Evangels' defense kept the Mustangs off the board for the opening 4:38 of the game. When they cracked the scoreboard, though, USW put together a 12-2 run to take the lead at 12-11, and the game remained close for the next seven minutes and change. With the Evangels leading 22-18 and less than five minutes to go in the opening frame, Anthony Black buried a 3-pointer to open a seven point lead, and that ignited the MACU offense. MACU closed the half on a 16-5 run to take a 38-23 lead into the break.
MACU took control from the beginning of the second half and ensured that the Mustangs did not have any opportunity to stage a comeback. Khalil Thompson twice pushed the MACU lead beyond the 20 point threshold early in the second half, and when Justin Bogle sunk a pair of free throws at the 11:24 mark, the lead went above the 20-point mark for good. The lead reached a high water mark of 38 on a tip-in from Trey Ayala with less than a minute to play, and MACU cruised in with the 105-71 win.
Bogle led all scorers in the game with 21 points, and he was joined in double-figures by three teammates. Thompson scored 18, Black had 13, and Charles Beauregard, Jr. added 11 in his MACU debut. Britt Hammons led the Evangels with nine rebounds, and he added eight points, and Daniel William had a pair of blocks and six steals.
As a team, MACU shot 32-for-66 (48.5%) from the floor, and 7-for-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc. MACU also connected on 34-of-41 free throws (82.9%).
MACU will be back in action on Thursday night when they welcome in the Eagles of Northern New Mexico College (3-0) for a non-conference game at 7 p.m.
